"John Daly's ProStroke Golf" Will Be Available
On Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC Next Month

Golfer John Daly will be the feature athlete in a new golf video game from U.K.-based Gusto Games that will be available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC next month, according to Farrell Evans of GOLF.com. “John Daly’s ProStroke Golf” marks Daly's first association with a golf game. He said, "We came out with the new ProStroke where you have to actually swing the controller, which is pretty cool for the golfer who can grip it like they would their golf club. ... I always said if I was going to do a video game I wanted to be able to swing something. I didn’t want to be sitting on the couch punching a button." Daly added, “You can chip, you can putt, you can turn the clubface to hook it, you can open it up to slice it and cut it. I think people can really learn how to play golf on the game.” Daly has had an association with Loudmouth Golf for several years that sees him wear the company's non-traditional golf apparel while playing. He said his character in the video game is "dressed in Loudmouth and players can change into different Loudmouth outfits. It's pretty neat" (GOLF.com, 9/20).

BRING IT ON: In London, Sara Kimberley noted a new ad for EA Sports' “FIFA 11” features Manchester United F Wayne Rooney, Juventus D Giorgio Chiellini and Real Madrid F Karim Benzema “competing against each other on a giant screen.” The ad, created by Wieden+Kennedy, Amsterdam, aims to “show how individuals can connect with friends online to play the game.” The ad debuted on FIFA’s Facebook page last Friday and aired during Sky Sports 1's broadcast of Sunday's EPL match between Manchester United and Liverpool. The campaign will also run in print (CAMPAIGNLIVE.co.uk, 9/20).

Yani Tseng Declined $25M Sponsorship That
Would Require Her To Become Chinese Citizen

The father of golfer Yani Tseng has indicated that Tseng recently rejected a five-year, US$25M sponsorship deal "offered by a Chinese enterprise, which required her to become a Chinese citizen.” Tseng Mao-hsin said that the business has been “trying to woo” his daughter, a native of Taiwan, since last year and approached her again last month with the contract that includes the "use of private jets and a luxury villa in Beijing.” Tseng Mao-hsin: “We cannot change the nationality. So we rejected it right away" (CHINA POST, 9/19).

EYEING MORE CREATIVE MINDS: AD AGE’s Schultz & Parekh report Anheuser-Busch will be “seeking input” from marketing communications firm and ad agency Anomaly as the brewer “seeks to pump up its iconic Budweiser brand, which has suffered sales declines.” A-B InBev VP/Marketing Keith Levy in a statement said Anomaly will be “one of many agencies submitting work” for the Budweiser brand. However, Levy noted Anomaly will only be working on the Budweiser brand and only in the U.S. Schultz & Parekh note the addition of Anomaly “means new competition for Omnicom Group’s DDB, which has been the lead agency” for the Budweiser brand in the U.S. since the mid-90s and the global agency of record since late ’09. The addition comes nearly two years after InBev’s takeover of A-B (AD AGE, 9/20 issue).

PR SPIN: The AP's Jim Vertuno notescyclist Lance Armstrong is "sticking to a relentless public schedule of charity bike rides, speeches, endorsements and meetings with policy groups ... while prosecutors examine his past as part of a federal investigation into drug use in pro cycling." Armstrong is "doing anything but hiding," and PR experts said that that is the "way to stay popular -- or at least, limit the damage to his reputation -- even as prosecutors present evidence to a grand jury." DC-based Levick Strategic Communications Senior VP Gene Grabowski: "It's all the right moves. Other athletes could learn from him" (AP, 9/20).

PROTECTIVE MEASURES: In Chicago, Phil Rogers reports MLB and the MLBPA are studying the BatGlove, a "thin, clear plastic wrap that can be applied to the handle of a ... wood bat for about $5." The product could prevent injuries such as those suffered by Cubs LF Tyler Colvin, who will miss the rest of the season after he was hit in the chest by a broken bat Sunday. BatGlove advocates say that the product "could make baseball a drastically safer game without impacting the performance of the bat." MLB VP/Labor Relations & HR Rob Manfred said that the product is "in the testing stage at MLB's performance lab" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/21).